Span’s ANSP Enaire has implemented improvements to approach operations at Gran Canaria Airport.
The Hermes Project, launched on September 5 enhances aircraft sequencing efficiency, increases predictability and reliability, reduces airborne waiting times, and optimizes flight distances.
Enaire's Canary Islands Control Centre manages departure and arrival trajectories for aircraft up to an altitude of approximately 4km (2.5 miles). Previously, the approach design relied on conventional navigation concepts, primarily supported by ground-based radio aids and vector guidance from air traffic controllers.
The Hermes Project introduces modernized take-off and approach procedures utilizing precision navigation known as RNP (Required Navigation Performance). This satellite-based system complies with European Regulation 2018/1048, which mandates implementation by 2030 for both arrival and departure routes.
During high-traffic periods, Hermes employs the AMAN (Arrival Manager) to assist in aircraft sequencing. This tool improves arrival order predictability, manages waiting traffic more efficiently during congestion, and optimizes flight paths to accommodate future traffic growth.
For arrivals on runway 03, the main runway at Gran Canaria Airport, the vector to merge technique reduces the number of vectors assigned to each flight. This allows traffic to follow a semicircular path equidistant from a reference point, resulting in more regular separations between aircraft and fewer, simpler pilot-controller communications.
The project also improves vector guidance to runway 21 during wind direction changes, standardizing the traffic guidance process. Enaire's control of authorized altitudes and speeds allows aircraft to maintain optimal altitudes and speeds longer, potentially reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Hermes has reduced the size of the Control Traffic Region (CTR) around Gran Canaria Airport. This change generates greater freedom of flight for non-commercial general aviation with less need for controller authorizations from the Control Centre and optimizes the workload of the sector involved.
For air traffic controllers and pilots, navigation has become more predictable with reduced communication frequency and message content. By implementing these advanced technologies and procedures Enaire said it is working to ensure that air navigation at Gran Canaria Airport is well-positioned to handle increased traffic volumes in the future.
Additionally, the project's focus on environmental considerations aligns with global efforts to reduce the aviation industry's carbon footprint. The optimization of flight paths and altitudes contributes to reduced fuel consumption and emissions, making air travel more sustainable.